As you may recall, temperament theory has been around since Hippocrates (see February issue of The Full Spectrum for an introduction to temperament) with Jung, Myers-Briggs and Linda Berens bringing us current applications.   Ancient or modern, temperament theorists agree that there are four main temperament types.  Each type represents a set of characteristics that are generally true for individuals within the type group.  While applications include career counselling, teambuilding, communication and conflict management, it is the latter on which we will focus today.

 

    With Personality Dimensions™ (PD) (click here for more information), a Canadian tool, the four types are represented by colours and adjectives that give us a hint of their defining trait: Authentic Blue, Organized Gold, Inquiring Green and Resourceful Orange.  As with any theory of human nature, it is important to recall the unique combinations of differences that comprise each individual within a group.  One of the principles of PD reminds us of this uniqueness.  Personality Dimensions™ posits that we have a preference for one colour in particular however, acknowledges that we each have all four sets of characteristics within us.  The preferred colour is referred to as the ‘primary’ colour. 

 

    Personality (temperament) affects conflict both in its destructive (escalation) and constructive (resolution) phases.  In escalation, some personality types are more likely to have difficulty with someone who shares their primary traits, while others find it more difficult with someone of an “opposite” trait.  For example, two primary Organized Golds may each have a certain process for accomplishing a task and, when asked to work together to accomplish it, their processes may clash, resulting in conflict.  Should they each be asked to work with an Authentic Blue, conflict would be less likely to occur since the Authentic Blue would likely not have a process s/he felt strongly about and would tend to avoid conflict when possible as well. 

 

    During conflict resolution, logic and passion can be opposing characteristics.  Resourceful Orange’s laid-back and independent approach means they are less likely to be in conflict with others and they are quick to move on after conflict.  Authentic Blues are inclined to first avoid the conflict entirely and to be passionate about the issue once the discussion is underway. Inquiring Green and Organized Gold tend to be less passionate in discussions and stick to logic and ‘facts’ of the disagreement.  The most obvious difficulties occur between primary Inquiring Green for whom logic dictates emotional detachment and Authentic Blue for whom passion and emotions drive conflict.  Introversion and extraversion affect these characteristics as well, and impact both the escalation and resolution of conflict.  Introverts are more inclined to keep feelings and conflicts inside, while extraverts tend towards expressing them.  This difference presents obvious challenges for conflict resolution with an extravert bias towards discussion! 

 

    There are factors aside from temperament (personality) that influence how the theory’s traits will play out.  For example, a primary Authentic Blue who is a Veteran (between the ages of 60 – 83) and Introverted will respond to conflict differently than an individual who is also primary Authentic Blue but Extraverted and a Millennial (5 – 24 years old).  Therefore, whenever we talk in generalities about characteristics that a group of people share, we do so ‘with a grain of salt’, keeping in mind that each person is still unique.  Nonetheless, using tools like PD provides a frame of reference from which to start.  

 

    Knowing that a colleague takes feedback personally, especially in front of other colleagues, means that in choosing the most conducive venue for providing suggestions, I will likely both make it private and consider the phraseology that I use.  Another colleague might welcome feedback in a group setting but appreciate that it be direct and not verbose.  I will take this into consideration as I form my suggestions to them.  Neither case is right or wrong.   Awareness of each person’s traits allows me to better manage how I communicate with them. 

 

    The variables of personality and temperament impact conflict escalation and resolution in many ways.  The value in understanding people using various theories and tools is that they provide us with a lens through which to adjust our interactions – from employee orientation to project planning to setting goals to performance management – to achieve the greatest business results possible.